To correct a spinal deformity, a pair of rods may be connected to the spinal column of a patient by a series of spinal hooks. Distraction or contraction is applied to the rods between the hooks to straighten or support the spinal column of the patient. One form of spinal hook is referred to as midline clamp and includes a pair of hooks in sliding engagement with one another. A midline clamp is illustrated in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/287,245 filed Dec. 12, 1988 in the name of Cozad el al., incorporated herein by reference.
During the surgical procedure it is not uncommon for the surgeon to loosely position a plurality of midline clamps along the spine of the patient prior to actually connecting the rods to the clamps. To connect the midline clamp to the lamina on the posterior side of the spine, a clamp inserter (resembling a pair of pliers with a special jaw) directly engages each of the parts of the midline clamp to compress the midline clamp about the lamina. As mentioned, the midline clamps are formed from two slidable engaging hooks. Therefore, to maintain the clamps in position about the lamina until the rods are securely connected, the clamp inserter must remain connected to the midline clamp. It would not be uncommon for a corrective spinal procedure to require a plurality of midline clamps each being connected and held in place by the clamp inserters in the manner described above. Therefore, using the current midline clamps and clamp inserter, each midline clamp and its connected inserter must remain attached to the spine until the spinal rods are connected and yet must be positioned out of the way of the surgeon. Typically, this would means that the clamp inserter must be held by a surgical assistant or laid down on the patient adjacent the surgical site. For example, if five midline clamps were to be connected, then there would be five clamp inserters along the surgical site.